News – 19 June 2008

Headlining this week’s news was an exciting win for the U12 Reds on Saturday morning at the Town Hall — you can read about it and all this week’s exciting games below. Coaching Coordinator Dave Joy has written a Progress Report on all the Club teams at the Half Way point of the Season. There’s a two-week break coming up over the school holidays after Round 12 next week, but there are some special games planned you’ll want to know about, as well as major tournaments occurring both here and abroad you’ll want to keep up with — there’s a list below to help keep you in the know.

Chocolates Fundraiser. Big Joe asked me specially to keep plugging the Chocolates Drive — Everyone should have received their boxes to sell now — if you haven’t got yours, then get onto Joe or your Team Manager or Coach this week. Thanks to everyone for participating in this fundraiser. There’s a prize for the person (or family) selling the most boxes. Monies are to be returned on or before 28th June (last Saturday before Mid-Season Break). Receipts will be supplied to everyone when they return their chocolate money; please make sure you return your money in the envelope provided and receive a receipt when you do. Those who prefer not to sell or buy chocolates can return their box unsold and make an equivalent donation instead, or make their donation up front this week. If you have any questions, you can call Joe Maher 0437-565-928.

Hoodies and Jackets: They look great, and the prices are amazing — you won’t find warm winter tops of this quality for $30 and $45 anywhere else this winter. At the moment, we’re still carrying good stock, so keep on buying them, we want them out-and-about, not sitting on the shelves while it’s cold outside. Those interested in Hoodies for U12 sizes: best speak to Sandra Campbell to work out sizing and numbers required.

Also headlining this edition is the ascent of Stephanie Exton to the giddy heights of Weekly News Editor. Steph will be in the hot seat from next week, so expect greater decorum and more wit and style.

Best of luck for good results in all your games this weekend. Go Malvern!!

Best regards,

Mike

Picture of the week: 2001 Malvern U13s — 5 of our current 2008 Seniors , can you pick them out, with Coaches Kon Mitsopoulos and Spiro Melissovas and Ref Allan Datson.

Photo courtesy of Kon Mitsopoulos.

Half Year Mark 2008 (after Round 9)

Coaching Coordinator David Joy wrote:

State League

State League are travelling well sitting 6th on the ladder, a game behind their next opponents Camberwell, and MCC. This team has stayed focussed on improving each week with this young lineup. Now knocking on fourth spot, the competitive spirit and eagerness to win more games will drive the team forward for the second half of the Season.

Division 2

Currently sitting on top of the ladder with Eltham, this team has a good blend of past State League players and Under 16/18 Juniors. Gaining valuable Senior experience from some of the best players this Club has produced shows in their improvement. This team continues to get it done each week.

Division 3

Unbeaten in their first four games places this team in fourth position, also structured with very experienced Senior players, topped up with Under 16/18 players. This combination is producing good results. Enjoying their lacrosse and teaching the next generation — a great combination.

Under 18

With a 6-3 record this team plays hard each week: with only eleven players there is plenty to do for each member. Currently sitting fifth on the ladder in 14-team competition shows that this team will continue to push up the ladder in the second half of the season.

Under 16

A formidable unit has developed with this team, many gaining Senior experience each Saturday afternoon. Now playing as a more cohesive team developing their skills. Sitting on the ladder behind the unbeaten Surrey Park at the halfway mark indicates with extra workload planned for this team so their improvement will continue.

Under 14

Another team just off the top spot of the ladder, playing good lacrosse has good numbers at training enabling them to practise their moves, which shows on match days. A solid unit progressing well.

Under 12 Black and Red

Both of these teams have good numbers on match days and on training night. They are enjoying themselves learning new skills and showing what they have accomplished. Recruiting continues picking up the odd player each week adding more numbers to this vital “growth” group.

Overall it is noted the ladder ranking’s of all teams are well placed with strong player numbers. The development of our Under 16/18 players gaining Senior experience is of paramount importance, lead by quality experienced coaches who teach the ‘Malvern Culture’ — this will continue to place us well for the future.

Yours In Lacrosse,
Coaching Co-Ordinator David Joy

Mens Round 10: 14th June 2008

State League: vs MCC 11-13

Coach Brad Skepper wrote:

Last Saturday was the beginning of the second half of the Season and saw Malvern take on 4th placed MCC at home. Bolstered by the addition of Paul Cook, Jeff Joy and Shannon Bell from Div 2 and the improvement of the young players throughout the year, we gave a much better account than the Round 1 loss by 10 goals. MCC scored the first goal in the opening seconds of the game, but Malvern soon regained composure and equalled, then in what can only be described as an arm wrestle, the two teams fought out a goal-for-goal struggle for the entire match. Cook, Croll, Chamberlain and Bell put on an amazing display of skills and tenacity in attack to reward the team for their hard work and keep the opposition within reach. Pat McGrath-Campbell once again performed well in the face-off to get us our share of the ball, Naughton, Garrett, Coleman, Moloney combining with Pat to secure any loose balls off the wings. Jeff Joy in goals in his first State League game since returning from WA and a hip op late last year was the stand-out and best-on-ground performer. Equal to the task was the solid defence, with the experienced Farrell and Bosisto combining well with the youth of Lopes, Shearman and Jenkinson to frustrate and deny the MCC attack time and again. Early in the 4th Qtr saw the scoreboard locked at 10-10 and the desperation shown by both teams was clearly evident, certainly no place for the faint-hearted. MCC broke the shackles to go 3 goals up, but Malvern continued to fight back in a never-say-die manner, Malvern scored again to narrow the margin, but eventually ran out of time to go down 13-11. This game was a definite turning point for this young side and sends a message to opposition teams not to take us lightly and certainly an indication of greater performances ahead.

Division 2: vs Eltham 10-0 walkover

Division 3: vs Altona 25-9

Dave Gerrard wrote:

Div 3 played Altona at Altona and with the Div 2 walkover and players back from leave and injury we had a very full bench – 19 players in total. We had a few more additions to the team from the under 16′s – the word got out that the old guys aren’t too bad to play with. We got off to a flying start with a 9 to 1 first quarter: Rubber was back and trying to see how many goals he could score, and Jordan got his first senior goal. Rod had PK and Luca to help out in the centre. There was good rotation off the bench with everyone getting a piece of the action.

U18: vs Camberwell 9-12

Asst Coach Paddy Mac without ghost writer Rommy An wrote:

Malvern U18′s had a hard hit-out against Camberwell. Being short on numbers again with just 1 sub meant the boys had to dig deep if they wanted to keep in with a chance of winning. A relentless effort through the midfield gave us plenty of possession out of the face-off with Malekai and Red winning more than their fair share. The Gazelle proved to be too quick again for the opposition, turning on the after-burners time and time again. Mitch Dobb earned the coveted Grill’d Award for his tireless effort in the middie and ‘D’ lines, and netting his first two goals for the Season. The attack line were able to execute greatly in the first half, with Ollie Smith and Rowboat finding the back of the net with ease, but the second half saw us make some unforced errors at crucial times. The defence line of Baxter, Courtney and Angus did a great job on the day to keep the Camberwell players at bay. In the end it was Camberwell’s endless stream of players keeping them fresh and ready that that got them over the line, winning 12-9.

U16: vs Footscray 12-7

Coach Marty wrote:

Started the game with 2 subs / not breathing easy at this stage.

First Quarter: Fairly scrappy start on both sides; Footscray threw three quick goals; Malvern finally getting one in at the end of the quarter.

Second Quarter: Malvern’s defence tightened up, forwards and midfield taking control around the ground. Our forwards were finally hitting the back of the net and most of Footscray’s rebounds weren’t getting past the centre line.

Third Quarter: By this stage Malvern was well on top in the centre draws with AJ and Luca. Any loose balls were cleaned up by our midfield. Back line with Jimmy /Joel /Tom and Robert were in full control.

Last Quarter: Both sides only scored one goal. Our defence still in control; a few tired legs out there. One more monkey off the back, one more to go.

Very proud in the way the boys took control of this game after the first quarter.

U14: vs Eltham 12-11

Coach Josh wrote:

Despite the absence of a few key players, Malvern staved off a last quarter comeback and had a good 12-11 win against Eltham. After leading the whole day, due to the great goal tending of Ed Brennan and some hard running in the midfield, the last quarter saw Eltham snatch the lead for the first time before our boys wrested it back for good. Sam Anglicas led the scoring with 5 goals and got some assistance from James Butler with 3 and Michael Petritsch with 2. Both Butler and Petritsch left the game after 3 quarters leaving just 10 players to finish off. Regular goal keeper Toby Exton was absent and the rest of the team really worked well in his absence. After a bye next week the team will travel to Moreland in a rematch of their earlier clash. Dave Joy will coach the boys in my absence over the next 6 weeks.

U12 Black: vs Surrey Park 12-13

Coach Gazzer wrote:

The Under 12 Blacks had a tight contest with Surrey Park, narrowly going down 12-13. Although the team lost, it was great to see the improvement from all of them team from the Footscray game in Week One against another one of the strongest teams. Darcy had an outstanding half in goals, stopping countless shots, and enabling our midfielders to have a chance to clear the ball back up the field and attack the cage. Resident defenders for the day Hugo, Rupert and Timmy played good tight defence, not letting the Surrey attackers get too much free space, and jumping on any loose balls and thrusting it back into attack. The midfield line of Jordy, Elliot, Nic K, Nic C and Guy Exton provided lots of gut-busting running and tireless thrusts on the goal to keep the game tight. Attackers Alex and Ben provided strong options for the midfielders always trying to make good space.

Hopefully next week we can get back into the winners!

U12 Red: vs Caulfield 10-6

Team Manager Big Joe wrote:

Another entertaining game for the fast-finishing under 12 Reds.

At the end of the first three quarters, scores were level at five all, but in the last quarter Malvern took charge of the game scoring five goals and, with George in goals, Eltham scored only once.

There were some good saves throughout the game. Aaron started in goal in the first quarter, followed by Dylan in the second quarter until he made a good save by putting his body on the line. Nick took over for the rest of the quarter. In the third quarter, with some encouragement in the form of extra lollies, Katie took over.

Boppa, in his coaching debut at under 12 level, continued the rotation policy, obviously getting it right at the last change. Katie had a great game with six goals and two assists, with Nick scoring twice and providing four assists, while Dana scored once and provided two assists and George scored the other goal. Kaleb and Aaron also provided assists. Pete again handled the ball cleanly in defence, and Ally provided run through the middle.

Once again, there was good cooperation and support for each other throughout the game. Well done.

Dim Sim Eating Contest

This Thursday after Seniors training in the Clubrooms. Roughly 8.45pm. $10 entry with 1/2 of the pool going back to the winner (i.e. 10 entries at $10/2 would be $50 for the winner). One of the easiest ways to make money, while also supporting the Club in this Fundraiser. Make sure to put your name up on the board if you’re interested, so we can have a rough idea how many dim sims to put on.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Coming up to the July mid-season break, there’s going to be even more lacrosse going on on three continents in the weeks ahead for Malvern Lacrosse Club folks. Here’s the run-down on what’s happening and where to keep up with scores and news.

Malvern Family Day

Events are being planned for both weekends of the school holidays. On the first weekend (5th or 6th July, TBC) we’re planning a Malvern Family Day at the Club, with intra-Club games and activities for all ages from U12′s to Seniors. Look out for more information next week.

Malvern-Bendigo Match at Castlemaine

Bendigo Lacrosse Association have invited us up to Castlemaine and challenged us to a social game on Sunday 13th July. Nev Bell, Bendigo’s Coach, is a well-known ex-Malvern player, and Johnny Cantone has been instrumental in the start-up of the Bendigo lacrosse venture. Sign up to play on the whiteboard in the Clubrooms, or reply to Norm.

Aussie Crocs U19 World Championships

Josh, Brad, Keith and Mike are leaving this week for the U19 World Championships in Coquitlam (Vancouver), Canada from 3rd to 12th July. The tournament website is www.2008worldlax.com

U18 Kangas

AJ, Rowan, Tom and Trevor are leaving Tuesday also for Vancouver for the World Youth Lacrosse Invitational Tournament. www.worldyouthlacrosse.com

U19 National Championships

Down the road at Caulfield Lacrosse Club, Paddy Mac will be taking the face-offs for the Vic team as they go to extend their record to 4/4 in the U19 National Championships from 6th to 12th July. The schedule hasn’t appeared yet, but it will probably come up on SportingPulse closer to the time.

U17 National Tournament

And at the same time at Caulfield, Billy Exton will be in the guts and Jay Baskaran in the cage for the Vic South-East Titans in the U17 Nationals.

Berlin bound

Joey Forster headed off today to play in the Berlin Open this weekend from 20th to 22nd June — http://www.berlinopen.de/?load=teams&teamid=6&gender=m

UK bound

Micky Bown leaves Monday morning to fly to China for 9 days. Then he’s off to England to travel and play for Cheadle Lacrosse Club. http://fp.cheadlelax.f9.co.uk

LACROSSE EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

BRINE ELEMENT BLUE ARM GUARDS SIZE MEDIUM $40
BRINE DEFT GREY AND BLACK GLOVES $40
2 X BRINE SPARTAN GREY AND BLACK RIB PROTECTOR $40 EACH
BRINE MOTIVE STRUNG WHITE HEAD $60
1 X CASCADE HELMET BLUE AND RED $130

All this equipment is very new and in good condition.
Please contact Noel Anderson for further details: 0409 777 553

CLUB EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARIES

Sat 19th Jul: Junior Trivia Night

Sat 2nd Aug: Senior Trivia Night

Thu 7th Aug: Last Week of Regular Season Junior Pie Night

Sat 23rd Aug: Open Mic Entertainment Night

Sun 14th Sep: Season Close — Presentation Day and AGM

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

9:30am	U12 Black	MCC	AWAY
9:30am	U12 Red	Moreland	AWAY
9:30am	U14	bye
11:00am	U16	Knox	HOME
11:00am	U18	Chadstone	AWAY
2:30pm	Div 3	Willy	AWAY
2:30pm	Div 2	Camberwelll	HOME
2:30pm	State League	Camberwell	AWAY